Running on Empty

Tonight I ran in the JPMorg@n Ch@se Corpor@te Ch@llenge at Centennial Park. The race was 5.6km (which my dodgy N1k3 thinks was 6.73 km).

People who run tell you about good runs and bad runs. I have never had a bad run (probably because this is only the second race I've run) but tonight was a nightmare. I crashed and burned at about 4.5km on their route markers and had to walk. I was severely disappointed and wanted to sit in the gutter and cry. I just had no energy and I felt faint.

The reasons why this happened are probably related to the phase of the moon and the magnetic polarity of the trees in the park but here are the lessons I think I learnt.

1. Do not run at someone else's pace - I went out too hard and ran out of steam.
2. Do not run after you have done a punishing leg workout in the morning.
3. Do not run when you eaten virtually NO carbs all day and only 500 odd calories.
4. Do not run when you are actively losing weight and have limited glycogen and fat stores.

Even with the walking I still averaged 5.53 km/min which is fast for me, the first three kilometres were 5.38 | 5.23 | 5.03 which is way too speedy.

To "celebrate" my hideous effort I had Hungry J@cks post race. Although I ate over 1,000 calories in one meal, goddamn it was worth it.

I ended up with 1600 calories for the day less the 436 I burned on the race so hopefully I will survive the sugar/carb overload.

Now I have a full tummy and feel much more human. In this case, I honestly think the junk food was first aid and not gluttony!